The Ultimate Wedding Website Checklist

The wedding planning process can sometimes feel like you're on a rollercoaster, but remember to stay grounded ahead of your wedding day and try not to get too swept away with it all. Whether you're going all out or having the most modest of weddings, there are lots of considerations: finding your perfect wedding dress, sorting out the marriage license, booking your hair and makeup, and deciding on a stationery suite. Our advice, in a nutshell, is to begin researching early and, of course - go digital!

If you didn't know already, creating a wedding website is a surefire way to 1. Save you money, 2. Communicate all your wedding details to your guest list at the same time, and 3. Save you a huge amount of time. Still not convinced? You soon will be! Stay with us for everything you need to include on your wedding website, plus a whole lot more...

If you're enlisting the help of a wedding planner, make this the first task you do even before your book your wedding venue. An experienced, professional wedding planner will help you define your wedding theme from day one and set you up with the perfect wedding planning timeline.

But, if you're doing it alone, get your wedding vision down on paper early; that goes for your budget too. Stick to these two things, and you will quickly minimize the risk of having a big day that blows the budget and/or doesn't really reflect you and your partner.

Your wedding date and time

It may seem super obvious but don't forget to include your wedding date and time on your website. These essential details should be nice and easy for your guests to find, especially if you've decided against sending paper invitations. Allow your guests to be able to hop onto your website and find specific details quickly and easily. Say I do is home to numerous brilliant wedding website templates that keep the most important information, such as your wedding date and the wedding venues, front and center.

Wedding location

Whilst noting the location of your celebration is great, out-of-town guests might not know the area, so including the full address is a must. Of course, if your ceremony and reception are at different locations, share information on that too. Maps are always a great help, so think about including one that guests can click straight into. If you're planning a destination wedding, it's a nice touch to add a few local things to do in the area; remember, your guests might be using this trip as their holiday too, so they will probably want to explore and have fun before and after your wedding day celebrations.

The wedding schedule

This doesn't have to be a minute-by-minute rundown of your entire wedding schedule. It can simply be a rough outline and tweaked if need be on the run-up to the big day. Informing your guests where they need to be on the day and when is essential. In fact, giving everyone an idea of what's happening throughout the day is actually really important; it can help set expectations and ensure everyone is exactly where they should be so they don't miss out on any of the exciting elements you have carefully planned.

Dress code

Give your guests a bit of guidance regarding the dress code to avoid any confusion or the same questions being asked ahead of the wedding day - you've got enough wedding planning to do with answering everyone's questions too!

You may be having a beautifully classic, traditional wedding where your bridesmaids' dresses and groomsmen's attire will set the tone for the day, or maybe you want the gents in black tie. If so, communicate this clearly with your guest list so that they have time to plan ahead.

Alternatively, if you're hosting an outdoor wedding, it's polite to let guests know in good time. They may want to wear appropriate footwear and bring layers. Just make sure everyone's on the same page when it comes to the dress code; you want your guests to be comfortable in every sense, right?

Catering

Your wedding party will thank you for letting them know what style of food will be served and when food service will begin. Guests will then know whether they should eat before they attend. You may also want to let your guests know the drinks situation - will it be an open bar, or do you advise they bring cash or their own refreshments? Remember to ask your guests to note down any allergies or dietary requirements they may have when they confirm their attendance via your online RSVPs.

Plus-ones and kids

Children and plus-ones can be a sensitive subject, so bring it up nice and early to make life easier for all parties. State politely but firmly on your wedding website whether children or plus ones are welcome. This will save any awkward questions, ensure everyone is informed and give people a chance to organize childcare etc, if need be.

RSVP date

As easy as you make returning RSVPs, you should still give guests a clear date to get their responses back to you. Say I do offer the essential feature that allows guests to send their RSVPs back with the click of a button. So easy! This helps no end with being able to track numbers and sending gentle nudges to those pesky late replies!

Here at Say I do, we also offer a personalized digital wedding planning checklist which our couples find invaluable throughout the wedding planning process. What's more, if you're not sure where to start and you've got 100 things like arranging a hair and makeup trial, sending save the dates, and sorting your marriage certificate out all swimming around in your head, our digital checklist is designed around your actual wedding date so you won't miss a thing. Who doesn't love crossing tasks off a to-do list anyway?!

Wedding logistics

If the wedding ceremony and wedding reception venue are in different locations, state this really clearly on your website. You should also give everyone plenty of time to get where they need to be; no one likes rushing, feeling that they are running late, or slowing down proceedings. Signage is also really helpful, especially if you're having a remote wedding where the signal is a little patchy!

Guest accommodation

Giving your guests as much information on details such as nearby accommodation is really helpful, especially if guests are traveling from further afield. You may be able to give out-of-town guests the option to book hotel room blocks too if you have a group of guests needing a bed for the night. Just don't forget to arrange your wedding night accommodation too!

Multiple Events

If you're hosting a few events throughout your wedding weekend or have a bridal party not wanting the wedding festivities to end (naturally!), some wedding websites like Say I do allow you to invite different groups of people to multiple wedding events. Whether it's pre-wedding events such as your wedding shower and rehearsal dinner, or post-wedding events such as a morning after brunch or even your wedding afterparty, sending out multiple event invites digitally will help you track each and every RSVP really easily, keep track of the numbers and plan accordingly.

Gift registry

Don’t feel embarrassed to include details of your online wedding registry. Alternatively, if you’ve asked for a contribution to your honeymoon fund and people are wondering how they can make a donation, your wedding website is the perfect place to communicate this. The risk of not having a wedding registry might be that loved ones shop off-registry for items that you may already have or don’t actually need. Wedding registries are very common and put guests' minds at ease that they are contributing to what the happy couple really wants.

The finer details

Create a separate email address for your wedding planning; that way you can both log into the account and keep an eye on any wedding correspondence and minimize the risk of an important email getting lost in your personal/work inbox.

One final last detail which is super easy to share is whether you want an unplugged wedding ceremony or whether you're happy for guests to share whatever they like on social media. You can pop this on your website, digital wedding invitations, or both! Guests are more likely to honor your wishes if it's made nice and clear early on.

The great thing about a wedding website is that you can keep adding to it, let it become a fun place for your guests to visit, and it can help build excitement ahead of your wedding day. Keep it up to date with all the important details and make it your own by adding gorgeous photos and even a blog.

Hopefully, this ultimate wedding planning checklist has let helped you realize that your wedding website will be a reliable sidekick that can guide you throughout the whole wedding planning process. Wedding planning can be fun, creative, and stress-free (yes, really!), so try and enjoy it. After all, you're only going to do it once, so make it count!